In medical environments, such as those found in hospitals and surgery centers, it is important to maintain a safe, efficient, and secure setting to ensure the proper health and safety of staff, patients, or other personnel. Due to the rising cost of medical care and supplies used therein, medical administrators seek to minimize material waste or abuse thereof in order to maintain profitability, while, at the same time, still providing the best care possible. For example, in certain medical procedures, such as surgery, medical supplies are accessed and therein used by medical personnel. Therefore, during medical procedures, and particularly in the case of an emergency, such supplies need to be readily accessible. Alternatively when not in use, the medical supplies need to be safely secured and stored away. Moreover, the medical environments, such as operation rooms or particular areas of the facility, need to be safeguarded against an unauthorized user's access and use thereof.
As many medical environments are open to the public, guests, or other facility staff members, such as administrative or custodial staff, there may exist risks of 1) the spread of diseases or other harmful viruses among the various patients and staff, and 2) the misuse, abuse, and even theft of medical supplies by any person, including employees, within the medical environment. As such, managing medical supplies and users traversing throughout a facility, while also minimizing the spread of infectious diseases, represent forefront challenges for healthcare facilities and medical environments.